Pushkar Temple: Poonam Flora, Sunny Flora
In September 2023, I purchased these two bundles from a Kleinanzeigen seller who had brought back several varieties of Pushkar Temple incense from a trip to India to sell them here. I paid around €5 per pack. In both cases, the sticks are 8″ (approx. 20.5 cm) long; Sunny Flora is sold in 100g bundles, and Poonam Flora in 50g.
Pilgrimbazaar, an eBay shop in England, has them in stock; 50g for £3.56 (approx. €4.10), and 100g bundles cost £7.13 (approx. €8.50), which aligns quite well with what I paid. There’s also the option to order them directly from India via this Instagram profile. The owner is a very friendly Kazakh named Pavel. Here, there’s a minimum order quantity of one kilo, which is 10-20 packs depending on the size.
Sunny Flora
Sunny Flora has an intensely fruity scent. It reminds me of sweets like cherry bubblegum, cherry fruit gummies, or even cherry-flavoured ice pops, as the fragrance strongly resembles the ‘artificial’ cherry taste that these things have in common. Additionally, there’s an equally intense creaminess.
Occasionally, but especially when I use the sticks indoors, I pick up a slight sharp note, which I notice more prominently in a few other varieties from this manufacturer. In Sunny Flora, it remains subtle enough not to bother me. It’s the same note I find in certain Nag Champa varieties; when it becomes too extreme, it reminds me of diesel.
Every now and then, I also catch a hint of a sweat note; however, I find that rather interesting.
Poonam Flora
In a post from the Instagram profile mentioned above, the following ingredients are listed: pollen, aromatic woods, spices, natural essential oils, chopped nuts, bamboo sticks. Saffron is mentioned as the main fragrance note.
Poonam Flora is similarly fruity but in an entirely different way. The scent is potent and penetrating. At least initially, it comes across as resinous to me. With better air dilution, the sharp character shifts to a tangy one, and the scent begins to strike me as really fruity. Then, it evokes vague associations with something like orange cream. The sweetness of the fragrance has a vanilla-like quality, which surely contributes to this.
Interestingly, at times I perceive the scent as more creamy, and then again as somewhat powdery-dry. Occasionally, the scent even strikes me as slightly soapy, but overall, I find it quite appealing.
Somewhere, very, very far in the background, I detect an extremely subtle spiciness, which indeed correlates with saffron, but I strongly doubt I would have recognised saffron without the above information; when I first read that saffron was supposed to be the main note, I was utterly perplexed.
Summary:
Both varieties are fruity in a somewhat ‘artificial’ way. In both cases, I wondered to what extent the colour of the incense sticks evoked the specific fruit associations, but then I read Mike’s reviews on ORS and found that he made very similar comparisons, including the mentioned fruits. I don’t think we’ve ever had such strikingly similar reviews as these two.
Pushkar Temple is an extremely popular incense brand among those who know them. I know a few people who downright get stars in their eyes when they talk about it. Mike mostly writes about them in glowing terms, and recently inducted Poonam Flora into his ‘Hall of Fame’.
I can certainly understand the appeal in both these cases, but generally, there’s something about this manufacturer’s incense that I don’t quite get along with. However, I do like Poonam Flora and will probably keep it. Sunny Flora, on the other hand, I think it’s better to pass on to someone who appreciates it more than I can.
Both have mellowed since I bought them, so I can now enjoy them indoors. When they were new, I couldn’t have imagined doing so.
All I can say is that the old-world rustic charm plays a key role in the buying decision! Based on the review, it seems clear that a generous amount of aldehyde has been used.